NEW YORK, NY.- On Tuesday, December 18 Swann Galleries will offer an eye-grabbing single-owner auction devoted to Monsters & Maidens: A Film Poster Collection, which focuses on images of monsters with helpless girls in their grasp.

The theme of a beautiful woman slung over the art of some villain is campy iconography sure to capture imaginations for a number of reasons, said Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann President and Director of the Poster Department, from the psychological to the primal.

While not all of the posters depict monstersthere are robots and even some heroes, toomost people will recognize Destroy This Mad Brute / Enlist, the circa 1917 recruitment poster employing a fierce gorilla to represent an impending German invasion, holding a helpless maiden in one arm and a wooden bat marked kulture in the other ($12,000 to $18,000); which closely resembles the beast in a French version of the classic 1933 King Kong poster for the film starring Faye Wray ($20,000 to $30,000); as well as posters for 1949 and 1966 re-releases, the 1970s remake, and knock-offs including King Kong vs. Godzilla.

Godzilla grabs a few girls himself in some of the posters, such as Les Envahisseurs Attaquent [Destroy all Monsters], 1969 ($700 to $1,000); Godzilla / Le Monstre de lOcéan Pacifique, 1957 ($600 to $900) and Les Monstres de lIle en Feu, circa 1960 ($700 to $1,000).

Another green baddie is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, who appears in a 1954 poster for one of the earliest 3-D movies, designed by Reynold Brown the well known science fiction magazine and book cover illustrator ($15,000 to $20,000); in addition to an Italian version of the poster for Revenge of the Creature, a 1955 sequel, by an unknown artist, which appears on the cover of the auction catalogue ($2,000 to $3,000).

Science fiction film fans will also appreciate the many outer-space related posters, among them a French version of The Day the Earth Stood Still, by Boris Grinsson, 1952 ($1,500 to $2,000); two Italian posters for the same film designed by Giam, 1952 ($2,000 to $3,000 and $2,500 to $3,500); Roger Soubies poster for the French release of Forbidden Planet, with a buxom blonde in the grips of Robby the Robot, 1956 ($7,000 to $10,000); another classic robot, Tobor, billed as the Man-Made Monster with Every Human Emotion, 1954 ($2,500 to $3,500); and b-movies out of Japan, including Prisonnières des Martiens, 1959 ($500 to $750) and Odissea sulla Terra, 1969 ($400 to $600).

Among the most beloved b-movies made in the U.S. are those by Ed Wood, and this sale includes a poster for his La Novia del Monstruo [Bride of the Monster], which features Bella Lugosis last speaking role, circa 1955 ($500 to $750). Lugosi also appears in a French poster for Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, 1954 ($2,000 to $3,000), which starred Lon Chaney, Jr., another famed movie monster actor. Chaney is also featured in Man-Made Monster, 1941 ($1,500 to $2,000) and La Casa del Terror, 1960 ($600 to $900).

Peter Cushing, an actor known for his sinister roles in Hammer Films releases, makes his mark in Grinssons LEmpreinte de Frankenstein [The Evil of Frankenstein], 1964 ($400 to $600); Le Cauchemar de Dracula [Horror of Dracula], 1958 ($3,000 to $4,000); and Les Maitresses de Dracula [The Brides of Dracula], 1960 ($400 to $600).

Fiery embraces of a more romantic nature include Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich in Morocco, titled Coeurs Brulés, in the French release, 1931 ($12,000 to $18,000); Roger Soubies design for Autant en Emporte le Vent, or Gone With the Wind, 1950 ($2,500 to $3,500); and Humphrey Bogarts film noir Il Diritto di Uccidere [A Lonely Place], 1951 ($4,000 to $6,000)..

The auction will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 18. The items will be on public exhibition Friday, December 14, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, December 15, from noon to 5 p.m.; Monday, December 17, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Tuesday, December 18, from 10 a.m. to noon.